An online log home community for log home enthusiasts.

June 2008 Blog Posts (25)

More Pictures on Flickr

Here's the link to our Flickr log home photoset. You can follow the construction of our home here. We also have several YouTube videos taken during the construction process. Just search on "log home" in the Videos search window on my channel page to see all of them.

Our home was completed in May 2008. We're located in East Tennessee, about an hour SW of… Continue

Added by Scott Maentz on June 28, 2008 at 8:12am — 1 Comment

A dream come true...

I am a firm believer that you can do anything you put your mind to. Whether it's overcoming a personal obstacle or building a log home - if you want it bad enough, you'll do it. I found this out the hard way!

About a year ago, I watched a friend of mine run a half marathon - 13.1 miles! I couldn't believe it. The whole time, I kept thinking, "there's no way I could EVER do this!" It seemed impossible to me. I had never really run before and I didn't even belong to a gym! A few months… Continue

Added by amber on June 26, 2008 at 4:42pm — 2 Comments

Can't wait to start building!

My husband and I live in a Log sided home currently, with hand made stone foundations on the house and garage. We have been researching floor plans and builders for about 2 years now, and have decided to build next year (hopefully). We have 3 different lots picked out (all on family land, just a matter of what will work best for utilities, sewer, etc).

We have had a horrible time getting any builders to answer us. Although we are not extremely young, (28 and 30) we look young. We are… Continue

Added by Britt on June 25, 2008 at 11:40am — 5 Comments

Weather not cooperating yet!

Greg & I are anxious to start the staining process but the weather is just not behaving. We need to apply the penetreat (a.k.a. borate) and allow it to dry for 48 hours - and then apply the first coat of stain. The most important thing being that the rain doesn't wash the penetreat off before we can apply the stain. Have loved all the helpful advice that the log home members have offered us in staining our home - what a great bunch of people! I believe that a good majority of people who… Continue

Added by Shelley Martinez on June 24, 2008 at 8:00pm — 4 Comments

Vast difference of cost between two log home providers

I'm new to this blog and I would like to know if anyone has had any experience dealing with Southland Log Home of SC and Premier Log Homes of GA? We are looking at two similiar plans and packages but the difference in cost is about $40K.
Thanks,
Larry

Added by Larry on June 24, 2008 at 9:54am — 8 Comments

30 Years...WOW how time flies

The year: 1978. We saw the first cell phone, the first arcade game in Space Invaders, and the original Star Wars: A New Hope. For a future tech geek like me this was a BIG year. But 1978 was also the year that my grandfather, Fletcher Parsons, was innovative enough to take his knowledge of wood preservation and apply it to the new crop of log homes that had begun to pop up around the country. His pioneering vision has now grown beyond his wildest expectations, and… Continue

Added by Rob Romine on June 20, 2008 at 9:35am — 2 Comments

building log home

Hi Everyone,

I am new here and need lots of idea's!! In a couple weeks I will have my tree's cut and I can start peeling them...I am having a hard time finding a place to buy plans for my home..I would like to do this all myself and with friends..

I really cant afford to hire a builder,but I have 40 acre's of pine tree's and there's plenty of tree's for a few homes..

The more I read, the more I am getting confused!! I need plan's for dummies!! I just want a one… Continue

Added by brenda zilian on June 19, 2008 at 11:50am — 4 Comments

GREEN LOG Home & Lifestyle Awards Announces Winners In Web's First Dedicated, Eco-Social Awards

Demonstrating the best ways to live green, a non-profit organization in Idaho believes it has found the award-winning formula to "building a healthier tomorrow one home at a time."

Over the past five months, the Green Log Home and Lifestyle Awards has tapped the power of Internet social media, from YouTube and social news to social networking and blogging, to nominate, educate and celebrate green products and services at their best.

After being nominated in categories such… Continue

Added by PrecisionCraft on June 18, 2008 at 2:00pm — 3 Comments

Log Love

As crazy as it sounds, one of the reasons I love my annual week at the beach is the five-hour drive down to North Carolina. Sure, I usually have to battle Washington's rush hour, but I really don't mind the traffic. By that point I'm in the car, iPod plugged in, air conditioning on—I'm on my way!

And once I get going, I simply cruise along and enjoy the scenery. I don't make phone calls or listen to books on tape. Instead, I simply watch the world go by. But this year was a little… Continue

Added by Sara Brown on June 18, 2008 at 11:31am — 1 Comment

Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Economy?

It turns out the boogeyman lurking in the economic shadows may in fact be a...toy poodle. A story in today's Washington Post notes that, while some consumer prices are up (gas, food), the U.S. economy is humming along nicely. Unemployment isn't what it was during previous recessions (and it's debatable whether we're even in a recession), and our gross domestic product, while not exactly buff, is at least fairly robust.

So, what gives? Why are folks scared? And to bring it closer to… Continue

Added by Michael McCarthy on June 18, 2008 at 9:53am — 8 Comments

So you think you're Paul Bunyan

I read at a lot of real estate ads for property, land, acreage ... what ever you want to call it. But what I really love is the descriptive language. "Don't miss this lovely parcel with it's picturesque rolling ...". Rolling, rolling, how about a 60 degree slope. I've looked at some of these great buys and I have to tell you, you better not have a fear of high places. But I think one of my favorite selling lines is, "Great view with a little tree trimming". Watch out for this one, you can chop… Continue

Added by Ted on June 17, 2008 at 9:59pm — 2 Comments

Avoid the "P" word... (paint)

As log home enthusiasts who live vicariously through caring for other people's log homes, we would be remiss if we did not caution those of you building or buying an existing log home about the "p" word. Paint and logs are not a good combination. When moisture becomes trapped in the wood, your logs are more susceptible to rot. We have worked on painted homes before, where owners who purchased a log home that was previously painted, had no idea their logs were infested with rot. Wood needs to… Continue

Added by See Dirt Run! Inc. on June 15, 2008 at 7:44am — 1 Comment

Improving Your Log Home Forums

Dear Community Members,

In an effort to make this Neighborhood more useful for you, we'd like to invite your suggestions to make the Log Home Forums even better.

There's nothing that makes us happier than seeing people help people, and from the action in the forums so far, that's exactly what's going on. We truly believe in the power of the wisdom provided by enthusiasts and experts and the collective knowledge the community… Continue

Added by Neighborhood Host on June 13, 2008 at 10:30am — No Comments

How many log home manufacturers?

I was just thinking about the number of log home manufacturers that LogHome.com mentioned in their web site. It think it was somewhere in the range of 650. So what does that mean to those of us who are trying to choose that one perfect manufacturer who will build that perfect log home for us?

Well, I don't know about you but I think that I investigated about half of the 650 in my own search. I found that most seemed reliable, most offered the three usual options ( buy only the logs,… Continue

Added by Ted on June 12, 2008 at 10:58pm — 9 Comments

Would YOU want to live in a fire tower? | With These Views, Oh Yeah...at Least on Weekends

For me, the idea of a getaway is pretty simple: I don't need what I call the "Gucci Rustic" trappings of a mammoth home---plasma TVs and granite everywhere. Give me simple materials. I also like clean, open lines when it comes to design, and a communal space that leads to outdoor areas is essential.

Actually, I could even escape to a "fire tower" (see below: um, no, it's not really a fire tower, but rather a weekend "home" for a Montana couple). A photographer out that way… Continue

Added by Michael McCarthy on June 12, 2008 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Long Weekend

Heading out here in a bit to start my long weekend. I'm going up the mountain to do some camping, and it's in a fairly rugged area. The only way to get there is by 4WD, and it's the definition of 'off the beaten path'. But it's a beautiful area, with a good-sized creek that runs right along where we camp, plenty of trees and the serenity of nature, so it's worth the sometimes treacherous drive. If I could pick a spot for my dream cabin vacation spot, this would be it. A small one-bedroom with a… Continue

Added by Shad on June 11, 2008 at 2:26pm — 2 Comments

It's a numbers game.

Ok, here goes. I keep telling everyone to watch their budget, make a budget, stick to your budget. But exactly what goes into a budget? I've developed a construction budget for myself. Granted it doesn't apply to everyone and God knows i've probably left out a dozen items but I thought I would share it with you. Perhaps it will help to focus in on the actual cost of building a log home.

If you think it is helpful you might want to print it out. I haven't filled in any numbers. That's… Continue

Added by Ted on June 10, 2008 at 10:02pm — 3 Comments

To do list for the Log Home

Now that construction is completed - it seems like me and the hubby's tasks has just begun!

*Staining the log home now that the weather is cooperating. The cost blew us out of the water - so we are going to "share labor" with our builder to get this done.

*Landscaping - our "backyard" looks like a mine field (this is where the septic drainfield is)

*Finishing the basement - we used the logs we had left over from construction and put them in the front basement… Continue

Added by Shelley Martinez on June 10, 2008 at 4:51pm — 4 Comments

So ya want to be a log home owner

OK, you've been bitten. You stumbled across a couple of photos in a home magazine or you went to visit a friend in the country who owns a vacation log home or something like that, and it happened. You really can't explain it yourself but at that very moment you knew ... life in a crowded city in a tiny overpriced apartment was not for you nor was living in the "burbs" where every house looks like every other house, where you are really big stuff if your piece of property is barely a third of an… Continue

Added by Ted on June 10, 2008 at 1:33pm — 11 Comments

It was a cold, snowy morning in June...

Now that might sound like the opening line of a cheap novel and snow in June just doesn't compute, but that is exactly what I am looking at from my window. It has been snowing here in NW Montana for the past few hours and now it is starting to lay. Seriously, how many times have you fired up the woodstove in June?

My daughter called from Washington, DC yesterday complaining about the oppressive heat and humidity on her side of the… Continue

Added by Tom Heatherington on June 10, 2008 at 1:02pm — 13 Comments